Melba Patillo Beals: Warriors Don’t Cry
Quotes 1) Melba Patillo- “Nobody presents you with a handbook when your teething and says ‘Here’s how you must behave as a second class citizen.’ Instead, the humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self esteem each day.” (Page 3) 2) Grandma- “… Be patient, our people’s turn will come. You’ll see. Your lifetime will be different from mine. I might not live to see the changes, but you will…oh yes my child, you will” (page 10) 3) Melba Patillo- “I felt such a surge of pride when I thought about how my people had banded together to force a change. It gave me hope that maybe things in Little Rock could change.” (Page 20) 4) Mama Louis.-“‘A lot has changed in the two years since you signed up to go to Central. You were younger than,’ Mother said with a frown on her face. ‘Maybe it was a hasty decision- a decision we’ll all regret.”(Page 32) 5) Grandma- “…You’re a warrior on the battle field for your lord. God’s warriors don’t cry, ‘cause they trust that he’s always by their side. The women of this family don’t break down in the face of trouble. We act with courage, and with God’s help, we ship trouble right out.” (page 44) 6) Melba Patillo- “Freedom is not integration …. Freedom is being able to go with Grandma to the wrestling matches.” (Page 52)

7) Melba Patillo- “Pride welled inside me, and for the first time, I knew that working for integration was the right thing for me to be doing” (Page 57)

8) Melba Patillo- “‘I’m proud of who I am. My color is inconvenient right now, but it won’t always be like this.’ I’d said what I felt, despite the fear that it would be considered talking back to an adult.” ( Page 105)

9) Melba Patillo- “This is going to work. It will take a lot more patience and more strength from me, But it’s going to work. It takes more time than I thought. But we’re going to have integration in Little Rock.” (Page 117)

10) Melba Patillo- “I look back on my Little Rock integration experience as ultimately a positive force that shaped the course of my life. As grandma India promised, it taught me to have courage and patience. My Central High School experience also taught me that we are not separate. The effort to separate ourselves either by race, creed, color, religion, or status is as costly to the separator as to those who would be separated. (Page 222)

Melba Patillo Beals: Warriors Don’t Cry
1st person journal entries
Friday Today after months of harassing nigger Melba, I almost had my chance to finally end her. I was walking away from the playing field with my friends and I spotted her a block away. I started to yell out her name and rushed to her. I knew I had her because she couldn’t escape. If she started to run, I would catch up to her. I was hoping she would run just so that I can hurt her even more worst than I had planned to. Link already had her but then she drove away in a car that looked exactly like Link’s. As the engine turned on, I tried my best to get in. All my friends were trying to get in through the passenger door and I ran alongside the car with my hands on the door handle. Eventually as she started to speed up, I had no choice but to let go. She had escaped once again. I can’t wait to get my hands on her again and stop this integration in MY high school, to stop all the “Thank you” she would say, to stop making us look like the bad guys.

-Andy

Friday I swear Andy is going to kill one of these people. Today I saved a girl named Melba from one of his plans. I already saw Andy when he was a block away and by seeing Melba’s face, I knew she saw him as well. She was very scared. I mean, who wouldn’t be? If someone is running towards you calling you a nigger, threatening you, I’m sure everyone would react the same way. I knew how far Andy would go and I was not about to...

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MelbaBeals was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on Pearl Harbor Day, which was December 7, 1941. She had a wonderful family until seven years old, when her parents divorced ("MelbaPatilloBeals"1). Her mother and grandmother were both wise women, who had a major impact on her all throughout her life. Her mother was an English teacher, and one of the first black students to integrate at the University of Arkansas. Her grandmother taught her many things about life, and always told her to have faith in God, making her read the bible often. As a child, she was often curious why white people were better than African Americans, and dreamed of going to the all white high school known as Central High School. One day, she finally had the chance, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of "Brown vs. Board of Education" which said that segregation within...

...of the United States, and the U.S. Army to bring integration to Central High School in the Southern town of Little Rock, Arkansas.
As a child, MelbaBeals new little of the world outside of her colored neighborhood. As she grew older, the actions of the adults around her ingrained a fear and distrust of “whites.”(6) This fear was reinforced on such occasions as Melba being turned away from the merry-go-round at the tender age of five, or witnessing the power the white grocer, Mr. Waylan, wielded over her parents. (16) With nearly every aspect of life outside the safety of her neighborhood controlled by “white folk,” Melba had little reason to hope her wish of seeing the insides of the majestic Central High School would ever come true. On May 17, 1954 the Supreme Court would set the wheels in motion that would allow Melbas wish to be granted. Integration was the new law of the land, and Central High School would no longer be only for “white” students. However, the implementation of these laws was far from speedy.
Two years after Brown v. Board of Education it appeared that integration was set to begin in Little Rock. As the time grew near for the selected “negro” children to enter Central High School, public outrage was sweeping the city, and Governor Orval Faubus was refusing to support integration. When the day came for Melba and the others to start school at Central Governor...

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The book WarriorsDon’tCry is written by Melba Pattilo Beals who was one of the students who went to Central High School to help integrate it so black students could go to school with white. Melba was only 15 year old when she volunteered with her friends to go to Central High. Melba is a smart intelligent girl who always listen to her family, friends, and follow her Christian religion. Melba went through many difficulties throughout her year in Central High. People did so many horrifying things yet she stayed strong and never broke down to her promise to finish Central High. Throughout her autobiography I discovered many new themes one such as never give up.
The theme, never give up shows up many times through Melba’s actions in school and outside of school Melba wanted to give up many times but she, kept her word by praying to God and talking to her grandma. Whenever students beat up Melba, she would say I am never going to that school but the next day she would get up and go back to school. When she was bullied, she reported to the staff but no one would believe her. Even though they did not believe what she said, Melba continued to do her best in school and outside of school. She never gave up on the things she did outside of the school...

...The definition of a warrior is someone who is brave and experienced as a soldier or fighter. A warrior is someone who battles with whatever situation they happen to be in. Traits that warriors have are determination, leaders, & be brave. I believe that Melba and the rest of little rock nine were warriors because no matter what happened through the day they never gave up and always fought back. They fought back without creating more problems. They stood up to the whites only to stand their ground and make them know that it’s not okay to treat people like they were nothing.
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